Stoned-Campbell Disciple

Conspiracy Theories. It is sad how rampant conspiracy theories are. The Right and the Left thrive on them. Trump supporters have them (the Election was stolen). Biden supporters have them.

The flat earth is the example of all of them. The lack of evidence – and in fact evidence that directly contradicts the theory – is hardly a problem.

Some want to claim allegiance to the Bible as reason for their flat earth. I watched one last night that literally denies the Moon exists! He claimed because the Bible calls the Moon “lesser light” in Genesis 1 it is not a Moon but a small light in the sky. In fact the Sun and the Moon are the same size. But does he not know that the actual word, “moon,” occurs numerous times in the Bible not just “lesser light.” The Moon is the very basis of the calendar in Scripture. Job speaks of the Moon (31.26-28, etc, etc). The Bible even knows the constellations, Isaiah speaks of “the stars of heaven in their constellations” (13.10, cf. Job 38.32) like Orion (Amos 5.8) and clusters like Pleiades (Amos 5.8), etc. Don’t blame the Bible and our poor reading of the Bible for our conspiracy theories.

Since at least the time of Pythagoras (i.e. 500 BC) the earth has been conceived of as a globe, and perhaps earlier. Aristotle knew this by watching ships disappear on the horizon. He also knew that you could see some stars in southern Egypt that were not visible in Greece, this could only happen if the Earth were a globe.

Eratosthenes actually proved the curvature and basic size of the earth 240 years before Jesus was born. No one in the Roman Empire believed the world was flat. Contrary to popular myth Christopher Columbus also knew not only that the earth was round but how big it was (he had studied the writings of Eratosthenes). Ptolemy, who dominated astronomy for centuries with his geocentric model makes numerous arguments for the spherical earth. In the “Dark Ages” no churchman believed the world was flat. There is more popular ignorance on many sides than in the “Dark Ages” on the flat earth.

Outside the West, astronomy in India and Islamic culture also knew the world was round. The Muslims were extremely sophisticated while Europe was in great decline for centuries on end. They did after all invent the “0” and 1 2 3 4 etc (Arabic numerals) that we use every single day (aren’t you glad!).

But actual evidence is not needed for a conspiracy theory. All that is needed is prejudice, disliking something. So in 2018, flat earthers were invited to the Salton Sea in Southern California for a visible – with your own eyes – demonstration. A boat with a multicolored striped mast and sail was set out. Everyone sat on the shore, got their cameras, binoculars, video and literally watched as each color bar (starting at the bottom) disappeared. This happens because of the curve of the earth.

Though a whole group of flatters were there, watched it with their own eyes, took pictures themselves, captured the video … they refused to believe it. It was fake. You see because the actual facts do not matter to conspiracy theorists. I don’t believe it, there is a huge secret conspiracy that must be confronted.

And though you may have been to Antarctica yourself, it does not exist. And though you have seen the Space Station with your own telescope (I have), it does not exist. And though we can listen to satellite transmissions from Mars, the Space Station, etc, it is fake. The absurdity is remarkable.

The same mentality is found in the 9/11, Why NASA never returned to the Moon (bc of aliens), Masks & Covid 19, Obama’s birth certificate, Trump won only because the Russians, etc, etc.

A few years ago Scientific American published an article called “People Drawn to Conspiracy theories Share a Cluster of Psychological Features.” It is a revealing piece.

Below I will share a photograph of the Space Station as it passed in front of the Moon taken on November 2018. Did NASA position it that it was in just the right place to be seen at that longitude and latitude at that moment? That is hard to believe.

People gravitate to these theories out of emotional and psychological factors, not facts, logic and evidence. And certainly not out of faith in the Creator God.

“Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what it fears, or be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread” (Isaiah 8.12-13)

This entry was posted on Friday, July 5th, 2024 at 6:16 am and is filed under Astronomy, Bobby's World, Culture, Galileo, Hermeneutics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.